Possible partial strike at Hero as wage talks falter

SummaryEven as Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant limps back to normalcy after last July’s violence and consequent shutdown, the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt may be staring at more labour unrest with Hero MotoCorp workers planning a partial strike from Wednesday.

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Even as Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant limps back to normalcy after last July’s violence and consequent shutdown, the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt may be staring at more labour unrest with Hero MotoCorp workers planning a partial strike from Wednesday.

The development follows the failure of Monday’s wage negotiations at the country’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer. A partial strike —which means going slow on production — is expected to reduce output by 20-30%.

A source involved in the negotiations told FE that Hero’s Gurgaon plant union will present its strike notice to the Gurgaon additional labour commissioner on Tuesday. “There was no solution at the meeting which started Monday morning and went on till evening. The labour department officer who was present has given a failure report to his superiors. With over 50 meetings failing to find a solution, the union feels it has no option but to use its last weapon, which is a production slowdown,” the source said.

The strike call comes after workers started wearing black bands and boycotted company-provided snacks since January 4. Workers are demanding A R14-15,000 hike in monthly salaries, similar to recent wage deals at Maruti Suzuki and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India’s plants in the vicinity.

Hero last week offered around half of what the union has been demanding — a hike of R7,500, raising it from its previous offer of R6,500 for 1,400 permanent workers. The two-wheeler market leader aims to keep the Gurgaon wage hike at the same level at what it offered to its workers at its nearby Dharuhera plant under the 2011 wage deal.

Union sources added the company has been informed of the strike plan.

“After the meeting, the Gurgaon additional labour commissioner called us to his office to reach a compromise,” another source said.

So far, Hero MotoCorp’s wages have reportedly been the benchmark in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt, but the revisions at HMSI and Maruti – which work out across three years – are expected to change this. Though substantial performance incentives are involved, a new joinee at Hero’s plant gets around Rs 40,000 a month, while average wages are around Rs 46,000. In comparison, a new joinee at HMSI gets around Rs 34,000, while a new Maruti worker gets about Rs 38,000.

The Gurgaon-Manesar auto belt has seen numerous labour disputes since around 2011, the most violent being the July 2012 violence at Maruti’s Manesar factory that claimed the life of a company HR